Eyes. Green eyes. Eyes exclusive to the Al-Ghuls of Hell.
The eyes of the girl he sought.
A pleading shriek rang out.
"NO!"
His heart broke as he raced forwards.
Faster. Faster. Faster.
But not fast enough. Never fast enough.
He couldn't save her, the girl with the Al-Ghul green eyes.
Still, he sprinted for all he was worth, straining to reach her.
"Stop! Don't come closer- they'll catch you! Run!", she cried.
If he could just find her- find where the voice came from!
"No- no! Raven go! Find Adyn and Tavor! Go! Leave me!", her shouts echoed throughout the land: in every alley of the city; under the bridges-providing a passage above fire, lava and water-; and in every castle turret.
He heard the sharp cry of his sister as she- no doubt- fought off the soldiers.
Raven's young voice tore his soul in half, "Hold on! Don't let go!"
He rounded a corner, finally making it to where she was.
More than a dozen soldiers lay dead behind Raven, who knelt at the edge of the cliff. And for dear life, she held on to her.
Then he felt a sharp pain and briefly remembered crying out.
Then Raven screamed and she fell off.
Then his sister escaped.
And all faded to black.
*
Adyn jolted in to reality, chest rising and lowering like the beating of an insect's wings. Shuddering, it took a few moments for him to register the cushioned mattress, silken sheets and plump pillows. A few moments to register that he was not in Hell, and he was not back six years.
It felt so... real.
The wounds from then were not yet scars- would they ever be? Gods above, it hurt like Hell.
Shoulders quaking(from both the cold and the memories), Adyn pushed the covers aside, a pale hand rubbing his eyes. Blinking slowly, he let his senses wander: a method useful in waking the mind.
There was no hope of sleep tonight, not after that.
He felt the aura of the ones on the higher floors of the Manor, then worked his way down to those below.
Finally, he sensed it. That repulsive, soulless entity. It was as repulsive as the plague and dark as any satanic ritual.
A Child of the Night.
Raven and Damian wouldn't allow one to live in their presence, so there must have been something in play- and Adyn intended to find out what.
***
Through the not-so-secret door stumbled Tim and Jason, closely followed by Adyn: the demon had sought their help in the Night Child issue so they filled him in, going with Adyn to where it was being held.
Raven regarded them coolly, knowing that Adyn would want to know firsthand the events leading to the Night Child's capture and Raven's suspicions.
All of which she gladly told him, with the input of Damian.
"So, what's happening now?", Adyn asked, surveying the room.
They stood in an area connected to the Batcave by a passageway. Dark walls, dark floors, dark mirror- just as Batman liked it. And through a dark door, was something alike a police interrogation room. And in that interrogation room sat the Night Child. And across from the Night Child sat Superman and Batman.
Raven's brow creased.
They had been attempting to coerce the caricature of a man in to speaking- to no avail: Clarke'a reporter skills proved useless against the Night Child and Batman's tactics of intimidation were fruitless.
This was going nowhere (as Raven predicted).
But had Bruce consulted Raven or Damian about the likelihood of the Night Child responding- no. It was obvious that 'he' would only listen if he thought he was in danger: meaning, the Child of the Night saw no threat in the beings before 'him' -no, not a chance- the real threat lay in the three creatures behind the glass.
Their demonic presence was too strong for it to ignore.
Of course, at that moment, the Night Child stared through the two-way mirror, somewhere between Damian and Raven. Evidently, it couldn't genuinely see them, but it felt where they stood.
"How long have they been going?", Adyn raised his eyebrows, bouncing his champagne curls in the process.
Damian shook his head, "About half an hour. This isn't working!"
The narrowing of his eyes and clenching of his fists was the only physical sign of anger Damian showed- had he not locked away his emotions, one of the walls nearby would have a sizeable hole in it.
"You can say that again!", Dick mumbled, blinking blearily.
Naturally, Raven told him to go get some sleep- Dick was never good to deal with when tired. Nightwing only grumbled, slumping in to a chair behind him- Tim was already seated in one, working in a laptop with a coffee next to him that had appeared as if by magic, Jason had already left and would either have gone out to beat up some shitty criminals or to get wasted of his arse.
Raven sneered at the Night Child through the two-way mirror. Enough was enough, it would get what it wanted.
She tapped the earpiece Mr Wayne told her to wear if she or Damian needed to provide him with information. The tapping activated the communication device, knowing this, Raven made sure to tell it straight.
"This is not working, he won't say a word."
Damian tapped his device, adding, "I suggest that you and Clarke get out of there before he-it- develops a bigger appetite. It would be wasteful to have to kill it already."
Bruce stood up where he was sat opposite the Creature of the Night, surprising Superman. He turned to face them and nodded.
***
Bruce frowned as he watched his son switch off the lights in the back of the interrogation room before walking in with Adyn and Raven. Rather than taking a seat, Raven and Damian stalked to the back of the room, going past the creature on both sides, finally resting in the back corners.
The crease between his brows deepened. It was as though the shadows clung to the two, masking them in darkness.
A perfect technique for intimidation, he noted.
Slowly and with deliberation, the curly-haired demon pulled out a chair, making sure it dragged against the bare floor. Upper lip curled, Adyn slipped in to the seat, movements fluid. His posture was... relaxed?- no, not relaxed, but cavalier: as if he shouldn't spend the light of day on the filth before him.
Observing the demon through a camera on the ceiling, Batman was almost shocked by the manner which he had adopted- almost shocked, not quite shocked, but almost.
A crackle issued from near the 'secret' doorway/passage and who would appear but Cyborg: though a boom tube .
"What's going on guys? I heard that you had called Superman in so-", Vic began, only to be shushed by Batman.
Clarke smiled apologetically on Bruce's behalf, "An interrogation."
"Is that-?", Cyborg said, looking through the window at the Child of the Night.
Clarke nodded, "Adyn, Raven and Robin are in there now."
***
Adyn toyed with a ringlet, carmine eyes locked on the Night Child, a coy smile playing on his lips. Smile turning to a smirk, Adyn let the curl fall.
"You have a name, I presume.", his tone was as venomous as a Black Mamba snake and sharp as one too.
The creature opposite Adyn snarled, giving no answer.
That was not acceptable.
From his place in the back corner, shrouded in shadows, Robin tutted, "Tt. Don't agitate Wrath. He won't hesitate."
The warning was well heeded by the Night Child- who answered that his name was Wyatt.
Adyn made a few comments about the name being one from before Wyatt was turned, mostly sly jibes at the Night Child.
From the other side of the mirror, the three leaguers marvelled at how... human it seemed. Despite the unnerving eyes, deathly complexion and elongated nails, it was very much a he. Stocky frame, strong jaw, straw-like hair: all too human for comfort.
Until it bared those blood-stained daggers, another growl ripping through its mouth.
At that, Adyn flew out of the chair, stepping to the back of the room and leaning his back against the middle of the wall, directly behind the Night Child.
Dropping the shadows, Damian and Raven strode past Wyatt, seating themselves on the two chairs in front of the creature.
Resting his elbows on the table, Robin leaned forwards.
"Let's make this clear. You don't lie. You don't withhold information. You don't bare your teeth. Three rules that will lead you to a quicker ending. Clear?"
The Child of the Night closed its mouth, opting to glare at Damian.
Raven chuckled humourlessly, speaking for the first time, "You had best reply when asked a question. Don't even think for one second that you, Wyatt, are in control here."
Wyatt turned his attention to Raven, nodding slightly.
"Of course, your majesties."
Having clarified that, the real interrogation started, and they would waste no time faffing about.
"Why was there a child caged in the warehouse?"
Wyatt answered a little too quickly, "I don't know."
Adyn clucked his tongue, "Wrong answer."
In an instant, Raven had the Night Child leaning across the table, having yanked it by the collar of its red-marred, torn shirt.
"What was rule one again?", she sneered at Wyatt, once amethyst eyes flaring a colour akin to her half-brother's.
Damian smirked wider than before, "Now... Wyatt, why don't you tell the truth, otherwise her highness, ", Robin chuckled at the title, "over here, will not hesitate to take this little thing,", he unsheathed his katana, laying it on the table, "and use it as a scalpel to open up your skull and extract your temporal lobe to see if your memories hold any information."
Raven sensed the doubt of those observing and the Night Child in front of her, snickering, "Oh, it's possible, The spell just requires blood magic of the darkest kind.", with those crimson eyes of hers, she glared in to its soul, "I'm open to all options."
The creature's eyes widened, "I-I think we were supposed t-to use it-her- as bait."
Well that was simple enough.
"Bait for who?", Damian said whilst Raven released it from her grasp.
Wyatt rubbed its throat, "For the Gotham demons."
Gotham demons? How creative.
If it were possible, Damian's smirk would have grown.
"You think the child was supposed to be used as bait?"
The Night Child nodded.
Raven and Damian shot one another a look out of the corner of their eyes (Ravens's had returned to their usual hue).
"Your kind doesn't stay together in packs like that, what is your reason for doing so.", Robin questioned, an eyebrow raised.
Wyatt shuffled a little in the chair, not answering.
Alright then. Suits me.
Without so much as a warning, and with the same unnatural speed as before, Raven held the Night Child by its throat. Eyes once more red, she raised her arm higher until it was entirely off the floor, feet not even brushing the hard, cold floor.
Ignoring the choking noises issuing from the creature, Raven drew it dangerously close to her face.
Finally, she cast it on to the floor, brushing her hands off and resuming her seat as if nothing happened. In all honesty, she was surprised 'Wyatt''s fragile neck hadn't snapped at the pressure exerted upon it.
Unlike Raven, the Child of the Night did not recover offhandedly, rather, as all three in the room had expected.
Hissing worse that Mr Pennyworth the cat at the sight of non-gourmet cat food, the Night Child rose, dashing towards Raven, teeth bared and claws unleashed.
No one saw him move, but within a millisecond, Damian stood with a bloody katana in his hands. The severed head of a certain Child of the Night rolled across the floor, stopping when it hit the wall.
Grimacing, Robin cleaned the edge of the sword on his cape.
An unspoken message flying between the three demons, they left the room silently, an atmosphere of accomplishment leaving with them.
Only to be met by three baffled Justice League members, Nightwing and Redrobin.
"You killed the only witness we had and got nothing out of him! What are you doing?", Batman said, outraged.
Clarke added, "Yeah, what was that?"
Raven sighed, "I got everything I needed out of it and there was nothing more that it could tell us."
"You asked him-it- barely two questions.", Dick pointed out.
Adyn, Damian and Raven shared an exasperated look, not wanting to explain the whole situation but knowing that they'd have to.
"Because we didn't need to.", Damian groaned, wanting to get this over with.
"Care to expand?", Superman folded his arms, though his tone was still fairly calm- especially since he was dealing with Damian: Clarke had found himself exceedingly sympathetic towards the new Robin, which was understandable considering he was near Jon's age and spent a lot of time with Clarke when Superman used to visit the Titans Tower.
Adyn explained, "Whilst I talked with it at the start, Damian and Raven were reading his body language, gouging reactions etc to see how it acted whilst lying."
"I was working my way through slipping in to its mind, making sure that I remained undetected as I shuffled through memories, trying to find the answers we need.", Raven said.
The furrowing of Bruce's brow decreased.
"Which is a hard feat to accomplish,", Damian added, "when you don't have eye contact with the subject. So, of course, the process was completed a lot faster with Raven in front of it. "
The three explained the process of sifting through memories- with regards to physical contact- fully justifying their actions to the point where there was nothing to argue against.
"But why kill the thing?", Vic regarded the trio.
Of course, that was an easily answered question. Children of the Night lived to drink blood and kill, and one of the primary reasons for the existence of demons was to destroy creatures like them. A lesson well learned by Adyn, Raven and Damian at a young age.
This wrapped up the discussion promptly, allowing everyone to leave.
Just when Superman was about to go with Cyborg (via Boom tube) he turned around, "Oh, Damian, I forgot to ask you- I'm taking Jon out for the weekend, we're going south. Do you want to come with us?", as if remembering that Bruce was there, he continued, "With your permission, of course."
Swallowing a strange longing in him, Damian shook his head, a small, true smile tugging his lips upwards.
"I'll pass.", as an afterthought, Damian said, "Thank you though."
Bruce was utterly stunned at the exchange. For Superman to make an offer like that to Damian, and for him to politely decline was beyond unusual. But before he could dwell on it more, Clarke and Victor had said their goodbyes and left.
"Mr Wayne,", Bruce turned his head at the cool voice of his son's friend, "I was wondering if you have the contact details of Zatanna. As I understand it, you are familiar with her, Jon Constantine and many other members of their... group."
Bruce resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at that:how did she know? Then again, the girl read a preternatural creature's mind just now, who knows what she knew. And was it all that surprising that she had, probably, been in contact with Constantine and Zatanna- no, not in the least.
Trying for a smile, Bruce said, "I do have her number. I'll pass that on to you."
She gave him her thanks, walking away with his son. Dick, Tim and Adyn soon left, leaving Bruce alone with a decapitated Night Child in the adjoining room.
***
Raven slipped the black leggings and loose band-shirt over her underwear, relieved to be clean and out of the blood-stained 'hero' uniform. Running a hand through her wet hair, the half-demon exhaled, picking up her towel and putting it in her laundry basket.
Having gotten that out of the way, Raven surveyed her damp hair in the mirror. Well, it wasn't a crime to cheat life... a little.
Muttering words in a tongue from a world and time long gone, Raven observed as within seconds, a light purple glow enveloped her hair, drying it faster that any human technology could.
A small smile dancing across her lips, Raven exited her suite, stopping in front of Damian's. They had agreed to meet after they'd both had a shower and change of clothes but... how would Raven say what she needed to? How could she explain that-
Before that thought could complete itself, the door opened.
"How long were you planning on standing there?", Damian raised an eyebrow, smirking cockily.
She chuckled at him, "Wouldn't you like to know."
A.N
You know, I've actually got nothing to say this time. Shit. Well bye!
-Bats :3